Memphis


based in what the GMCC calls the Brooks Road corridor very near the airport. Similarly, America’s largest shipper of CDs and DVDs, Technicolor (which ships more than 500 million items a year, more than half of North America’s total shipments), is located in Memphis. So too is Flextronics, America’s largest repairer of computers, which ships some 5,000 devices a month. Customers can typically send defective laptops to Flextronics and have the repaired items back inside three days, says Cox. “What is compelling about Memphis is the uniqueness of the dual hub” says Perl. “Economically, Memphis is a very cost-effective airport because of the hybrid model we have here.” Perl says the airport’s importance


“reflects the wisdom of a decision made 15 years ago to construct a world runway” by extending the central runway of its three north-south runways from 9,000 to 11,120 feet to allow cargo and passenger operations year-round to any long-haul destination.


GLOBAL AIRPORT CITIES


Delta’s contribution Delta’s impact on the Greater Memphis economy pales alongside that of FedEx, but its passenger hub at Memphis nevertheless accounts for about $1.5 billion a year in economic activity. Most flights at Memphis are Delta-branded and the airport handles some 10 million inbound and outbound passengers a year. Delta and partner Pinnacle offer services to 70 domestic destinations. John Moore, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, says the fact Delta serves Pittsburgh from Memphis was a crucial factor in Pittsburgh-based Mitsubishi Electrical Power Company’s decision on February 14 to build a $200 million transformer-construction facility on Presidents Island and provide more than 275 new local jobs. The facility will be the most advanced of its kind in the world and its transformers – each weighing 400 tonnes – will be shipped throughout the world or transported by rail throughout North


America from the intermodal transport complex at Presidents Island. The Island – only 10 miles from the airport – is such a compelling intermodal hub that in January Electrolux also announced it would locate a $250 million facility there and employ 1,200 people in manufacturing 750,000 cooking appliances annually. As Global Airport Cities went to press, Moore reported that the GMCC was actively negotiating with Canadian National Railway and CSX Corporation to develop a new intermodal complex on an 800-acre site in Presidents Island.


Developing the aerotropolis Development of the Memphis Aerotropolis region is overseen by four sub-committees of the Aerotropolis Initiative Steering Committee. One committee co-ordinates development of several business corridors identified as being crucial to the overall development of the aerotropolis. The second deals with beautification and enhancement of the airport and


Issue 1, Volume 5 11


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